Railway cross-tie.



R. H. PINKHAM.

RAILWAY GROSS TIE.

APPLICATION FILED min, 1913.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Ralp H.Pinkkam- ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA vmmuumum cu, WASHINGTON, n. c.

R. H. PINKHAM.

RAILWAY CROSS TIE.

APPLIOATION FILED $313.7, 1913.

1,068,269. Patented July 22, 1913.

2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR U AZZ%WA Ra p HFinkMm.

By W 4 M ATTORNEYS cuLuMum PLANOCIRAPH co.,wAsumGToN, D. :4

RALPH. HOWARD PINKI-IAM, OF NEW FLORENCE, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY GROSS-TIE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 22, 11913.

Application filed February 7, 1913. Serial No. 746,762.

To all whom may con/001 12.:

Be it known that T, RALPH H. PINKHAM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Florence, in the county of estmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Railway Cross-Tie, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description.

This invention relates to railway construc tion and has particular reference to cross ties or means for supporting the usual railway rails.

Among the objects of this invention is to improve the cmistruction of cross ties in such a manner as to utilize old or discarded fragments of running 'ails so that they will constitute the principal portions of cross ties.

Another object of this invention is to com.- bine with such discarded rail, in the construction of cross ties, certain cushioning devices and special means for seeming the cushioning device to said rail.

For convenience of description the rail used in connection with the cross tie as above intimated will be termed rib so as to distinguish the same from the running rails of usual form supported. by such cross ties.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention will. be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the (linwings forming a part of this specification in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pair of rails supported by a cross tie made in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 a plan view of a fragment of a cross tie and a rail thereon; and Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the line of Fig. 2, the rail appearing in elevation.

Except as otherwise specified, the several parts of this invention may be made of any suitable materials and the specific design thereof may be changed in certain particulars without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I show in Fig. 1 a. cross tie 10 comprising a rib 11. Said rib, asalready stated may be composed of any suitable fragment of a worn railway rail either re-rolled or not, but which is no longer suitable for use as a running rail. It to be understood,

however, that any other suitable form of rail or bar, such as channel iron or an L beam, may be employed for this purpose.

I use in connection with the rib 11 adjacent each end a suitable cushioning device 12 through which the running rail it is supported upon said. rib. Said cushioning device is shown comprising blocks of cre osoted wood or other suitable insulating material. I employ preferably two of these blocks at each cushion and secure them to the rib in some suitable substantial manner.

ris shown especially in Fig. 3:3, the blocks closely embrace the sides and top of the rib and are held in place thereon by a pair of clamping members 13 which embrace the sides, ends and bottoms of the blocks and through which the blocks are secured to the. rib by a plurality of bolts 14- which pass through the clamps, blocks and the rib. The bottoms 15 of the clamps are preferably deflected i'lpwardly and embrace the upper faces of the base flange 11 of the rib, whereby they increase the stability of the device with respect to the downward strains incident to the rolling stock. The ends 16 of the several clamping members 13 may be shaped in any suitable manner, but as herein shown, each of them at its top preferably engages the lateral. edge 11 of the rib, and at its bottom is notched as shown at 16 to embrace the lateral edge and top of the base flange 11.

fl preferably employ a tie plate 17 between the rail R and the cushion 12, such plate sustaining the physical. contact of the rail. The tie plate is provided with any suitable number or form of openings 17 and 17 through which ordinary spikes or lag screws may be passed to secure the rail to the cross tie, such fastening devices cooperating with the base of the rail as usual and passing through the tie plate 17 into the cushion 12.

A composite cross tie made as herein set forth possesses practically all of the advantages of a metallic cross tie with respect to strength and rigidity and also the advan tages incident to non-metallic cross ties with respect to facility of attaching the railway rails and the comparative noisclessness and insulating properties incident thereto. The blocks constituting the cushions being co1n parativcly small may be produced at a low cost and new sets may be substituted for used ones with facility, the other parts of the cross tie being indestructible. This form of cross tie also is possessed of a substantial base dimension whereby its cooperation with the road bed is very satisfactory.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a cross tie, the combination of a rib having a base flange, a pair of nonmetallic blocks on opposite sides of the rib, a pair of clamping members embracing the sides, ends and bottoms of said blocks, the ends of the clamping members cooperating with the top and edges of said base flange, and the bottom engaging portions of the clamps resting upon said base flange and de tachable means passing through the clamping members, the blocks and said rib, securing said parts together.

2. In a cross tie, the combination of a metallic rib having a horizontal base flange, a pair of non-metallic blocks on opposite sides of said rib and above said flange, a pair of metal clamping members embracing the sides, ends and bottoms of said blocks, the lower portions of the clamping members lying in the same plane as the bottom of the base flange but having their inner edges bent upwardly and lying between the blocks and said flange, and removable fasteners passing through said clamps, blocks and rib, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RALPH I-IOYVARD PINKHAlVL lVitnesses:

WV. H. THOMAS,

E. J. YEALY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

